Law or policy reform enabling automatic acquisition of nationality Commissions for Citizenship Determination look for proof that the individual concerned is habitually resident in Kyrgyzstan. The documents which may be considered as proof of residence in Kyrgyzstan include a passport with a registration stamp or a registration document, a military service book (voennaia kniga), certificates from places of work (trudovaia kniga), diplomas from educational institutions, and certificates from the place of residence.28 Testimony from a residence committee or village chief, with the participation of a district police officer and three neighbors of the individual concerned, was included in the list of possible forms of evidence of habitual residence in the 2013 Regulations.29 This flexible approach to proof of residence has allowed individuals who did not qualify for citizenship under the 1993 law, because this law required proof of permanent residence (propiska), to acquire Kyrgyz citizenship. Finally, it is worth mentioning that the 2013 citizenship regulations contain some important procedural guarantees pertaining to the process of determining if an individual is a citizen of Kyrgyzstan, a non-citizen or a stateless person. This includes a time limit of 10 days for checking a case in the Ministry of Interior information system, one month from the receipt of applications for determining whether an individual is a Kyrgyz citizen and two months if the application is received by a diplomatic representation or consular office. Importantly, applicants are also entitled to receive a reasoned response to their application and an explanation of the additional procedures to obtain a permanent residence permit. Reduction of statelessness through implementation of the nationality framework Since the 2007 Law entered into force, the Kyrgyz Government has collaborated with UNHCR to find ways to implement laws and policies on nationality to reduce statelessness. Three important initiatives have been undertaken to create awareness of further steps needed to resolve statelessness in Kyrgyzstan. Between 2009 and 2020, these initiatives helped approximately 78,000 people to replace old USSR passports and some 13,700 formerly stateless individuals to obtain citizenship by presidential decree, many with the assistance of UNHCR and its Kyrgyz NGO partners. 28 29 Paragraph 25 of Presidential Decree #473 of 2007. Paragraph 53 of the 2013 Citizenship Regulation. U N H C R > G P P A C T I O N 1 : R E S O LV I N G E X I S T I N G M A J O R S I T U AT I O N S O F S TAT E L E S S N E S S 27